Percy watched sadistically as Gabe was forced to run through flaming cactus fields. His mother was proud that he let his father handle the justice but she didn't know that he watched it be dealt with in the underworld, his punishment was the worst of them all. He had to face giant scorpions, swim through a lake of fire, run through a field of flaming cactuses, drink vile liquids that made him horribly sick, and many more punishments that made Jupiter's punishments look like a walk through the park. Gabe looked at the balcony Percy was standing on in terror,
"Help me boy! Get me out of this!" Percy smirked at his old terrified tormentor,
"I'm just a freak remember?" He turned his back to the now cursing man and smiled with satisfaction of his horrible punishments. He decided to go to Elysium and finally visit Bianca, he hadn't had the guts to visit her since he felt guilty about her death. He wondered if she hated him for getting her killed, no her last words were that she loved him. He tried to assure himself but felt uncertain and he hated the feeling of uncertainty. He stood outside the golden gates of Elysium and took a shuttered breath, he opened them and walked down the golden streets. Fallen heroes walked on the streets and waved at Percy as he passed, Odysseus, Theseus, fallen hunters, Achilles. He didn't see Bianca and felt nervous, surely she would make it. She risked her life to save his and Thalia's, she was a hero. His palms started to sweat and he ran his hand through his hair as guilt and nervousness began to eat at him. He then saw a girl sitting alone on a park bench, she was smiling as she watched children run around laughing. She had black hair and he instantly recognized her, Bianca. He walked over slowly and sat by her, she didn't seem to notice him so he began talking,
"It's nice of Pluto to automatically put kids in Elysium." Without looking at him she smiled and nodded,
"Yes it is, he is my father. Actually Hades is, he's a nice dad." Percy chuckled at her obliviousness of not seeing him,
"He sure is, though Pluto is my father. Long time no see sis." Her eye brows shot up and she looked at him in surprise,
"Percy!" She crushed him in a hug which he eagerly returned as tears slid down his face. He was so happy to see her, her death was traumatizing for him and Nico. He rocked her back and forth as she squeezed his waist tightly, he had missed his sister immensely and seeing her made him feel elated. He felt bad about not bringing Nico along but he needed to make sure that she wasn't mad at him, he needed to make sure that she was in Elysium. Minos was an awful judge and was unpredictable when it came down to the question of who deserved what. He pulled away and smiled widely at her as tears of joy continued to stream down his face. She wiped his tears away as her own fell as well,
"I'm so sorry I couldn't save you sis," Percy stared with a shaky voice,"you saved my life and I'm so grateful. Nico and I lost it when you died, we both missed you so much. I didn't have the guts to visit you yet because I was afraid you would be mad at me." She just hugged him harder and he felt giddy that she was actually here with him, he failed her but she had forgiven him. She looked up at him with watery, onyx colored eyes,
"Don't beat yourself up about it Percy, you tried. I've missed you and Nico though, I'm not mad at you Percy. Elysium is very nice, I saved your life because I love you, because your my big brother." Tears returned and he held his lost sister close again, a crowd formed and someone shouted,
"Perce has a girlfriend!" He whirled around to see Theseus and Achilles poking fun at him, he and Bianca made faces and he glared at the fallen heroes,
"She's my sister! Besides that's more of a Zeus and Hera thing." Laughter erupted and Percy prayed that Hera never found out that he made fun of her, he wasn't afraid of Zeus because he was kind of a pansy. Zeus's threats were getting old, all he talked about was killing people with his stupid, giant taser. But seriously, a brother and a sister together? No wonder Ares was so messed up. He actually liked the war gods roman form Mars, Mars held great prestige and honor something that was essential for any roman. Ares was pompous and over confident, he played dirty and held no honor as his other persona did. Percy wiped his last tears away and ruffled Bianca's hair fondly,
"What do you wanna do today scamp?" She frowned and smacked his hand away playfully. She combed through her hair a couple of times before becoming deep in thought,
"I just want to spend the day with you and Nico."
Percy and Nico spent the entire day with Bianca swimming, fighting, going to amusement parks, watching movies, eating junk food, running around, dancing, and hanging out. It was the most fun the siblings had had in a while. It seemed as though Percy, Nico, and Bianca became closer then ever before as they spent many hours together. When the day was over Percy was sad he had to leave Bianca, he then brightened when he thought of seeing Zoe. Once they left Elysium Hades confronted them and gave them both hugs. He wasn't mad that his kids had broken the law to see their sister, he apologized for not being there once she died and explained that he was busy taking care of a serious problem. Percy nodded in understanding and didn't question his father while Nico glared at the ground, of all the children of Hades/Pluto Nico held the worse grudges. Hades felt bad about leaving his sons to mourn without him, he was about to speak but Percy beat him to it,
"Sorry, can we continue this conversation later? I've got somewhere to be." Hades eyebrows shot up at Percy's impatience, his son was always patient. Hades then smirked,
"Meeting a lady friend? Lemme guess, Apollo hooked you up?" Percy rolled his eyes while Nico looked appalled at his father. Hades grinned at his sons and slung an arm around each of their shoulders,
"Let your old man give you some advice, I am quite the charmer! I guess it's time to have that little birds and bees conversation." The brothers mouths dropped open comically and Percy quickly shadow travelled out of the underworld. Nico tried to but appeared two feet away since shadow traveling was the hardest thing for him to do. Hades calmly walked up to his youngest child and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder while repressing a smirk,
"Well Nico, when a bird meets a bee-"
"I HATE YOU PERCY!" Nico cut off the death god by screaming but Hades quickly resumed the conversation knowing it was torturing his son.
"Dear gods that was terrifying, I'd rather kiss Aphrodite." Percy grumbled and shuttered at the thought of kissing the over eager love goddess. He chuckled at the thought of Nico being trapped down there while their dad gave him the talk. He walked through the woods and saw Zoe sitting by the lake, the moon shined brightly over head and Percy approached her without making a sound. He was late and prayed she wouldn't be mad at him, but knowing his luck she probably would be. He sat down and bumped her with his shoulder,
"Hey Zoe." She gave him a sideways glance, maybe she isn't mad. Percy thought optimistically before she gave him a rough elbow to the stomach. He hunched over and tried to regain his breath while she glared at him,
"Your late." She hissed and anger boiled through her while he clutched his stomach,
"S-sorry, v-visiting Bianca w-with Nico." He wheezed and rubbed his now sore stomach. She felt guilty and her expression softened, he was visiting his dead sister with his little brother and she hurt him for it. She embraced his hunched over form,
"I'm sorry Percy, I'm glad you got to see your sister. You'll have to take me sometime." He straightened and gave her a peck on the lips,
"Will do!" She smiled and leaned onto his shoulder. They sat there for a while just enjoying each others presence. With Percy's ADHD he began to get bored as he twiddled his thumbs, he wondered if Artemis would spar with him anytime soon. Thinking of his eldest sister made him wonder if she would let him be with Zoe, speaking of Zoe he felt they needed to be with each other more. He started thinking of fun things to do when an idea worthy of Mercury appeared.
"Hey Zoe look, I think it's a frog." She leaned in and looked closer at the lake, she frowned when she saw nothing,
"Percy, I don't see any-" he shoved her in and she shrieked in surprise once the cold water touched her skin. He roared with laughter and had never seen the fearless Zoe so afraid or surprised. His sides started to ache but something grabbed his ankle and he was tugged into the water as well. His head popped out of the freezing water and saw an angry Zoe, she started throttling him and screaming about how stupid he was. He laughed despite the pain and marveled how cute she was when she was angry. He removed her hands from his neck and kissed her, she stopped trying to kill him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He placed his hands on her waist and kept them afloat with his water powers, he normally hated to use them but Zoe was worth it. He willed himself to stay wet as they continued to kiss, he loved Zoe to death and was sure that the electricity running through his spin was more powerful then Jupiter's master bolt. It made him feel tingly with excitement, Zoe was pretty sure that this was their best kiss yet, even though they were freezing cold she enjoyed it immensely and felt warmed by the kiss. Her hands tangled in his wet hair when someone cleared their throat, they pulled away to see an emotionless goddess of the hunt staring at them. Percy's cheeks turned a bright red,
"Hey Arty, I just saved Zoe here from drowning and had to give her mouth to mouth. Then I started drowning so she had to give me mouth to mouth, true story." Zoe face palmed while Percy laughed at his own stupidness, she hit him upside the head,
"I could just kill you!" He rolled his eyes at her,
"That's not what you said two minutes ago." He grumbled making her face turn pink before she smacked him again. He started muttering and rubbing his head while she climbed out of the lake, he climbed out as well only to be pushed back in by Zoe. He made himself dry and climbed out again, he smiled at her smugly as she stood in front of Artemis sopping wet and covered in goosebumps. She frowned at him,
"Percy, make me dry."
"Percy, make me dry," He mimicked before turning serious, "I don't hear a please in that sentence." She glared at him with black eyes that were both beautiful and threatening,
"Dry me now." She growled while Artemis watched the situation in amusement. Percy grinned coyly but made her dry anyway. She turned back to Artemis and took a deep breath,
"My lady, I like Percy a lot-"
"You mean you love me!" He cut her off but instantly quieted once she pulled out a knife. Once she was sure he'd keep his trap shut she sheathed her knife.
"I like Percy a lot and he likes me too. If I am to be kicked out of the hunt for this then so be it." Zoe said confidently while Percy appeared next to her while interlacing their fingers together. He gave her a loving smile which she returned, Artemis gave them a tiny smile,
"You two are family, you never abandon family. I will allow you two to be with each other but please keep it discreet around the other hunters, I had to cover for you guys once the hunters saw you two holding hands." Zoe beamed at her while Percy gave her a big hug,
"Thanks Arty!" He felt kind of awkward hugging a twelve year old but knew better then to tease about her age again, he probably wouldn't survive this time. She sees him kissing a hunter then jokes about her age which is probably really old, it wouldn't be his best idea. Once the hug ended Artemis looked guilty,
"Percy, I have to tell you something. All those times we sparred I went easy on you." Percy's eyes flashed with anger as flames erupted, Artemis flinched in surprise but steeled herself. He looked betrayed and bitter as he clenched his fist,
"Am I not good enough to go against the almighty Artemis in a real battle? Is it because I'm a guy?" He started to think of Bianca and wondered if he'd trained harder if he could of saved her. Sure he got to visit her in Elysium but he couldn't do it daily, not without Jupiter noticing. His anger overcame him as he wondered what could of gone differently if Artemis had trained him better, he could of defeated Talos more easily, Bianca would be with him right now and they would have adventures in the hunt, Bianca, Nico, and himself could all be spending time together at camp. He wouldn't have to be stuck with the memory of cradling her dead body, watching her shroud burn, or helplessly watch himself and Nico try to hang on to their sanity while they mourned for her.
"If you had trained me better then Bianca would still be here! She's dead and your stupid father has rules about visiting Elysium. I'm not a child, I have a prophesy to fulfill and I don't need you babying me!" He screamed and stalked away, Artemis stood there in shock and felt guilt consume her, what if she could have saved Bianca by training Percy better? She cared more about his feelings then his progress which was wrong, she needed to train him to the best of his ability. Zoe looked at her mistress sadly,
"I'll go talk to him milady." She ran to catch up with Percy who was sitting at the trunk of a tree. He glared at his hands angrily and Zoe sat down by him and drew her knees to her chest. They sat in silence while Zoe tried to think of what to say, Percy's eyes were still aflame and his hands turned red in his anger. She gently held his face in her hands and turned his head so he was looking at her,
"Percy, you know Artemis cares for you. She would never intentionally make Bianca die, it wasn't your fault or her fault. Bianca sacrificed herself so you could live." His eyes turned back to normal and his hands lost the red color as he gazed down at her softly,
"That's the problem Zoe, if I was better trained then I could of saved Thalia and kept Bianca safe as well. I had always thought that I could protect everyone I loved since I was as good as Artemis, but I'm not. Now I'm probably not going to get to see Bianca for a while, or ever. I don't want my father to get in trouble with Zeus, what if Zeus kills Nico because I keep breaking his laws?" Zoe looked into his green eyes and gently placed her lips on his. He tensed at first but then relaxed and cupped her head in his hands. She pulled away smiling,
"Stop blaming yourself Percy. Is she happy in Elysium?" He nodded slowly while he tried to calm his rapidly beating heart that was still stunned from the kiss. She gave him a stern look,
"It's like what you said to Nico, she isn't dead, just asleep." He nodded again and knew that Zoe was right, he needed to let it go, he needed to stop being mad at Artemis because she couldn't control what happened. He kissed her again before they stared at the stars together,
"Thank you Zoe." He whispered as she now sat in between his legs. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she leaned back on his chest. She smiled,
"Your welcome, what does this make us?" She asked and he smiled down at her,
"I'm guessing boyfriend and girlfriend?"
"Your not as stupid as I thought you were." He chuckled and Zoe felt his chest rumble with his laugh.
"I guess I'm not." He replied and they sat there in silence, he began to play with her hair as she held his hands. Percy had come to love the stars and the moon, he wondered if it was because of Artemis's blessing. He could feel power surge through him during the night but he honestly didn't care. He liked siting there with Zoe, she was his best friend, his girlfriend. To be honest he wondered how this happened, she hated men and now she was dating one. The first time they met she had hated him, shot an arrow by his head which she had explained was a warning shot, and yelled at him for being another Orion. And here he was, it didn't occur to him until just now that he's kissed a hunter. Not many guys could say that they've kissed an eternal, man hating hunter.
Zoe started to fumble around with a pen, she was wondering when would be the right time to give it to Percy. She knew he deserved it and was beyond worthy enough to have it, Hercules never deserved it, she was foolish and naive then but she knew Percy would never do that to her. The pen was actually a sword, Anaklumos which was Greek for riptide. She grabbed his hand and put the pen in it, she wrapped his fingers around it and he stared down at her questionably,
"What's this for? What is it?" Zoe rolled her eyes, if he had just looked at it he would get his answers.
"Percy, just look at it. Then uncap it, preferably not near me." He shrugged and looked at the pen, sweet now I can pursue my career of being an author! He thought with mock excitement, first off he hated writing, secondly he was dyslexic. He uncapped the pen and it turned into a three foot long celestial bronze sword. He preferred imperial gold weapons for it was the roman way, it was what his hunting knives were made of. He took a liking to the bronze sword and knew he desperately needed one, the blade felt right in his hands and better then the other swords at the horrid camp. With Zoe still on his lap he took an experimental swing at the air and grinned. He looked closely at the inscription, Anaklumos. Artemis had taught him to speak Greek fluently and he easily translated the word to riptide. He capped the sword and hugged his girlfriend,
"Best girlfriend ever! What other guy can say he gets weapons from his girl? Thank you!" She rolled her eyes but wore a small smile,
"Your welcome." She liked being called his girlfriend.
-LINE BREAK-
Percy swung the sword at Artemis who easily deflected the blow with her knife, she tried to sweep him of his feet but he jumped over her foot and slashed her stomach. She grunted and rammed the butt of her knife onto his left arm making it go numb. He cursed and kept his left arm tucked into his chest while they hacked away at each other, she dodged his blade and cut his numb arm which gave him a long wound. He hissed and disarmed her while holding his sword to her throat,
"Yield." He growled but she only smirked at him, she smacked the flat of his blade making it aim at her stomach. She quickly side stepped his blade and rolled to the right. While in the midst of rolling she stuck out her arm and tripped him. He fell to the ground and she quickly put her foot to his throat and he struggled to breath. He brought up his sword but she quickly brought her other foot down on his wrist so he couldn't make any attempt to resist,
"My dear little brother, you are foolish to think that I would give up so easily. You should of held your weapon more firmly, but even that wouldn't of stopped me from defeating you." She smiled smugly and Percy sighed,
"Fine, I yield." She got off him and extended her hand to him, he ignored it and stood on his own. She knew because he was roman that defeat was hard for him, it ate away at his pride.
"Nice fight Arty." Percy smiled at her before eating ambrosia and wiping the sweat from his brow. He was glad that she didn't hold back anymore and that they had gotten over the little spat they had earlier. He stretched his sore muscles and massaged his arm that was slowly losing its numbness.
"Thanks, I actually have a surprise. I'm taking you to camp Jupiter."
TWO WITHIN 24 HOURS.... HYPEEEEEE